Monday, June 28, 2004

One of the most precious gifts are friends who are faithful friends over the years.

R1-Thanks for sharing your heart with me this past Sat. ... You have an unusual strength you are able to find your own path and to do so with integrity. May your love with Sandy Girl continue to grow.

Willie & Gennel... Thank you for saying Thanks this Weekend. Many take the gifts of life for granted these days.

Greg "The Watchfull One"... Thanks for being there for my mom when I can't be...
My Mom Wrote:

Dear John,
I want to thank you for suggesting that I call Greg and let you know
that he did everything that needed to be done very kindly and willingly
and it was a real pleasure to have his help.
My car is running quite well now and he is coming back next week to
try to improve the timing which is already so good that I would never
know it needed any adjusting but he wants it to be better so that's
great. My car will probably be in the best shape that it's been since I
bought it. He's quite a contrast to some of the other people in my life
lately (car repair people) and I feel a bit overwhelmed because I am not use
to having any body really do a superb job anymore. In addition I'm remembering
all our years on John street and what a good gang of friends both you and Sunday
had there. It was a precious time and a wonderful place to raise children.
I feel so moved by both the past and the present and just the joy of
memories of what John Street used to feel like and also what I have been
missing here.
Greg said he thought you would be pleased to know that he was really
watching out for me. What a good guy.
Do you remember Mr. Craig from John Street? He said you used to work
for him, I think when you worked for the school one summer. He said to
say hello. He's a nice man and he lives here. I'm going to think of
John Street every time I see him.

Tuesday, June 22, 2004

I have been married since 1995. I hardly remember what it is like not to be married. Jude went to Chicago for 5 days... for 2 conferences... I have trouble sleeping adequately when she is gone. On top of that she is an amazingly efficient and effective worker... even when she thinks she's not getting much done... she is doing the work of 2 to 4 people... This needs to change... she needs the freedom to be one person... I feel like an average Joe sometimes around her... I can't work at her pace... I know that I work and live at a faster pace than some... but when she is gone I can't really cover for all the things she would do...

This fuels humility for me...
As long as I am content to be myself and to keep growing.

What would you do if you knew someone whose choices were going to lead to becoming homeless??? What is needed from them is not just a home but a path to grow into the maturity to maintain a home. It is one thing to see this... it is another to see how we can walk along those who want to grow and change and mature and to provide the context where this kind of maturity can happen.

Is this the Church???

What does it mean to love our neighbor as ourselves??? and how practical does it get???

Tuesday, June 15, 2004

LA Street Productions is planning to do a Mural this summer. The challenge will be in our will and energy to carry it out. We are all older and more involved with real world responsibilities. We will be working on this mural throughout the month of July starting July 10th. The Mural will be at 66th Street Elementry and will be for the children of that school. We will need others to help with this journey... email me if you might be interested in helping us.

LA Street Productions gave out our first Annual Scholarship to a Belmont Highschool Graduate -- Daniel Flores. Wilburd Estada said something profound and yet obvious at our last meeting... "So many of the scholarships that were given out were given in the memory of someone who had died or passed away... we don't have to wait until we have died to give back to our communities." Pray for us as we seek to grow as a group... in capacity and leadership.

My friend Willie is working hard at trying to make a new way of life a reality for himself. Working a temp. job Construction for $7.00 an hour. Currently renting weekly cause that is what was available to him... and trying to use ebay as a way to fill in the economic gaps.

He would love any donations of CD's to help with his efforts to start a business.

He says I am trying to turn him into a computer nerd... ; ) Would I do that to anyone??? Actually I am just trying to stay in touch with current culture.

I also am just trying with him to figure out new options other than what the streets have to offer... not just for Willie... but for others as well... and all the options I can find open to us require a lot of learning and hard work.